Racing at Pac-10s: The No. 10-ranked Cal women's varsity eight will challenge for the Pac-10 Championship Sunday, May 13, at the Pac-10 Rowing Championships on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, CA, located just outside Sacramento. Racing is slated to begin at 8:00 a.m. with the women's varsity four heats. The finals begin at 12:10 p.m. The Bears are seeded third in the varsity eight, fourth in the JV eight and varsity four and fifth in the novice eight events.

Varsity Eight: Coming off a fourth-place finish at the San Diego Crew Classic and dual race victories over Stanford and Oregon State earlier this month, the Cal varsity has an entirely different look in 2001. Losing nine letterwinners to graduation, third-year head coach Dave O'Neill depends on the skills of a young and talented collection of women during the Bears Spring 2001 campaign.

Pac-10 Championship History: The last time the Bears came away with a varsity Pac-10 or Pacific Coast Rowing Championship was in 1979. Since then the Washington Huskies have won the event all but two times. In 1990 and '91 UCLA claimed the title. The Bears finished second to Washington each of the last four seasons.

Competition Quick Look: About the Competition: The Washington women's varsity eight is currently ranked No. 5 in the USRowing/CRCA Coaches Poll (May 2) and is seeded No. 1 in all women's events with the exception of the varsity eight at Pac-10s. Earlier this season, the Huskies were upset at the San Diego Crew Classic, April 8, by current No. 4 USC which garners the top seed in that event. No other competitors at Pac-10 are ranked in the Top 20. Based on votes received, Stanford and Oregon State respectively rank 25th and 26th in the nation. In addition, look out for UC Davis (No. 2) and Western Washington (No. 6) who are ranked in the Top 10 in the USRowing/CRCA NCAA Division II/III coaches poll.

PCRC Championship Entries: The Cal Women's third varsity eight and women's novice four will compete at the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships on Saturday, April 12 on Lake Natoma. The PCRC competition is geared primarily to smaller, non-Pac-10 institutions. The Bears 3V will race in the varsity eight event. Events for these crews are not offered at the Pac-10 Championships.

Washington Dual Recap: The No. 10-ranked Cal women's varsity eight finished two lengths behind the fifth-ranked Washington Huskies in a dual race on the on the Montlake Cut in Seattle, WA, April 28. The Huskies win extended their dual race winning streak to 11 straight over the Bears. The JV eight, novice eight and varsity four were also defeated by UW.

Cal's Schedule at Pac-10s: (Times and entries subject to change)

RACE

TIME

EVENT

LANE 1

LANE 2

LANE 3

LANE 4

LANE 5

LANE 6

LANE 7

1

8:00

WV4 Ht 1

1 WASH

4 CAL

5 SMC

8 USC

9 USD

12 UCLA

3

8:20

MV4 Ht 1

1 CAL

4 STAN

5 SSU

8 SDS

9 UCLA

6

8:50

MFN8 Ht 2

2 CAL

3 OSU

6 UCSD

7 UCSB

10 UCLA

11 CHAP

7

9:00

WN8 Ht 1

1 WSU

4 OSU

5 CAL

8 SSU

9 USC

12 UCLA

13 ORE

9

9:20

WJV8 Ht 1

1 WASH

4 CAL

5 OSU

8 SDS

9 WWU

12 HSU

13

10:00

WV8 Ht 3

3 CAL

4 WSU

9 WWU

10 SDS

15 UCSD

16 SCU

14

10:10

MV8 Ht 1

1 CAL

6 WWU

7 SSU

12 WSU

13 ORE

17

12:10

WV4 GF

20

12:40

MV4 GF

22

1:00

MFN8 GF

24

1:20

WN8 GF

26

1:40

WJV8 GF

27

1:50

MJV8 GF

1 CAL

2 WASH

3 OSU

4 UCD

5 WWU

6 SSU

7 WSU

32

2:40

WV8 GF

33

2:50

MV8 GF

USRowing/CRCA Coaches Poll:

USRowing, in conjunction with the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA) will conduct weekly polls for Women's NCAA Division I Collegiate Varsity Eights throughout the season. Below is the poll released May 2.

Women's NCAA Division I Varsity Eights

Team (1st-Place Votes)

Points

Previous Rank

1. Brown University (24)

499

1

2. University of Michigan (1)

468

2

3. Princeton University

439

3

4. University of Southern California

416

4

5. University of Washington

405

5

6. Syracuse University

371

6

7. Yale University

349

7

8. The Ohio State University

320

9

9. Harvard University

289

8

10. California

242

10

11. Michigan State University

241

12

12. Boston University

235

11

13. University of Iowa

186

13

14. University of Virginia

181

14

15. Rutgers University

180

15

16. University of Notre Dame

92

18

17. University of Wisconsin

81

16

18. Clemson University

72

17

19. Cornell University

54

NR

20. Washington State University

42

20

Others receiving votes: University of Pennsylvania 25, University of Texas 24, Northeastern University 12, Columbia University 9, Stanford University 9, Oregon State University 3, University of Tulsa 3, George Washington University 2, University of Miami 1.